"a large binder full of notes for us to use instead of an actual textbook" - by the way, this is the default teaching mode in places where textbooks are not usual.

Is the story a variation of this set of related folktales? In any case, without knowing more context, I presume it will be very hard to assess for us here on the internet whether the professor is trying to convey the contents of the folktale as desirable behaviour, or whether they are showing the folktale for some other purpose (and mind you, lots of folktales contain all kinds of disgusting aspects). Maybe it's even meant as an intentionally shocking example of how different people from different times (and thereby, also different cultures) ...

... think? To create awareness of different views? (That is not to say I could tell how it is related to accounting, though some teaching people cover context wiiiidely.) In any case, it can well be a prime example of why reading the lecture notes does not replace attending the lecture (for contextual information given therein). If the story was not covered in any of your lectures and you cannot make any connection to accounting, it might be backup material that the professor teaches only sometimes and that can be ignored in years where he doesn't find an opportunity to talk about it.

@O.R.Mapper There are courses where this sort of generalized exposure is legitimate (philosophy, cultural studies, literature) Teachers should always attempt to tie the material back to the topics at hand. Based on the student's description of the surrounding material in the binder, this professor's teaching approach sounds suspect. If it is not clear to most students how these tales relate AND no attempt is made to relate them, then it is inappropriate for the class--and in this case, upsetting to the students.

it's difficult to know -- perhaps, the lecturer was trying to make a point amount arbitrariness of societal rules. Accounting rules that make sense to us would not in other times and places. Arabic numerals were illegal for accounting at one time because of the ease of forgery. I once had a student complain that I had recommended a sexist book in my geometry course. The book was "flatland" which was highly relevant.

@APrioriRainbows: "There are courses where this sort of generalized exposure is legitimate" - I would argue some general exposure to other topics is legitimate in all courses. "Teachers should always attempt to tie the material back to the topics at hand." - who says this one didn't? We only have the report of what is found in one set of lecture notes, and as I've tried to point out, reading lecture notes is no guarantee for getting the complete context of everything that might be presented in the lecture. "If it is not clear to most students" - it is not clear to one student. ...

... "no attempt is made to relate them" - again, we don't know this. "in this case, upsetting to the students" - as I pointed out above, lots of pieces of literature and other texts from former times might seem upsetting measured by nowadays' standards. Nonetheless, I dare say that a university graduate should be educated enough to know about former times, and if everything that does not comply with nowadays' values is excluded because it might be unsettling, little material to look at remains.

@O.R.Mapper All your points may well be true. I would still disagree on your first point. It depends on the ratio of general knowledge to course material. All teachers can't teach all topics in a class. Nor should they. The classroom isn't meant to be a soapbox for a teacher's worldview. Note that there are classes that teach students about former times...And of course if history can be tied into accounting, all the better! But it just doesn't seem to be the case here.

And regarding whether or not we can really know if the material was related. Obviously we can't just ask the professor, but I am taking the student's comments at face value, and assuming she made a good faith effort to figure out the connection between the questionable material and the course material.

I'd also like to say that I've had to teach students about a LOT of upsetting material: sodomy, beastiality, rape, genocide, etc. But the more upsetting the material is, the more of a responsibility I have to make sure that they know WHY I'm teaching them about it.

@APrioriRainbows: "All teachers can't teach all topics in a class." - I wasn't implying everyone should be systematically teaching all topics, but that analogies and background information based in other fields can well be inserted from time to time. For instance, a software design class can well start with explanations about how Ancient Egypt built the pyramids, if it somehow serves the explanation. The actual connection can be very hard to reconstruct without hearing the actual talk. "assuming she made a good faith effort to figure out the connection" - this would include at least asking ...

... the professor what's the connection, which doesn't seem to have happened here. As such, I am having a hard time seeing a good faith effort. "that they know WHY I'm teaching them about it" - I agree with the spirit, but then, maybe I'm weird about this, but the mere fact that it's a folktale or piece of literature from former times would be completely sufficient to me as a reason why it is interesting to hear about it, even if I do not find the analogy to the core topic convincing. Still, it's well possible exactly that explanation is sometimes provided in class.

The interesting thing of that story is that you try to judge the what's in the notes of the professor for the lecture without reference to the actual lecture the professor gave. In general that's a bad idea. If you don't understand why something is in the notes because you haven't visited the lecture you have little grounds to complain, that the notes don't tell you why a particular piece of information is included.

At what point does this sort of thing go into armchair professorship? This person, I assume given his position, is an experienced full professor, and the head of the department no less. It's hard to imagine, at least on paper, anyone more qualified and expert on how an accounting class should be taught. This question strikes me as "let's all tell this expert how to do his job".

Has it really come to this? For all we know, the professor was teaching about "sleeping beauties" (see @Repmat's answer) and told the class that people wouldn't use the name if they had read the original story. When did people start seeing threats in a little general education like this?

"No explanation or anything saying what it is; I was only able to figure out what it is..." I am unclear on this point. What did you have to figure out? That it was the Italian version of Sleeping Beauty? Why was that part unclear? Because it was untitled, or because it was in Italian? Or why it was included at all? (if the last, you didn't include your conclusion)

Whether something is "horrific" is a subjective judgement from the perspective of the affected party. If the princess thought those events a blessing then they are not horrific. That doesn't mean the story is any less of a WTF, but it does mean that you are doing an awful lot of projecting here and might want to calm down -- and consider that the original story is a somewhat commonly used allegorical example in business.

I would add that if teachers exclude everything that might be offensive to someone from their lectures, not a whole lot remains that can be taught. Even 'mundane' things can be offensive to someone somewhere.

IMO this does not in any way perpetuate the belief that it's okay to rape women (such belief only exists among rapists, and women aren't the only victims of rape!).

When I was 12, we learned this story about how soldiers abducted and raped a large number of (presumably teenage) virgin girls. It was about the foundation of a well-known city. Is it offensive? Obviously. Should it be censored? Probably not. Was it relevant? In classics it is. In accounting, not so much.

Did you talk to the professor?

@gerrit Nitpick: as is pointed out in the page you link to, the word "rape" in that context does not mean what it does today, it is an archaic translation equivalent to "abduct". According to the myth (which this is), the women were abducted and then persuaded with gifts etc. to marry their abductors. Whether this is any more of a rape (in the modern sense) than the standard practice in ancient times of daughters being married away against their will is not immediately clear.

@semi-extrinsic Even if rape had a different meaning (since considering the wishes of a woman is a more modern idea), the story still does not really make a pretty bedtime story, nor a foundation myth to be proud of, nor is it particularly women-friendly. The myth (as fictional as the fairy tale of the sleeping beauty) is right up there on par with some of the more outrageous tales from the Old Testament.

"Can my university (a state university) legally, ethically, and morally publish this to their students in a faculty made textbook?" - Unless you're living in a repressive theocracy or other modern fascist nation, it's almost certainly legal. The alternative is state-sponsored censorship, which I hope is not what you're advocating. I'm all for gender equality, but taking that to the extreme of advocating the suppression/banning/criminalization of sexist media is the wrong approach imo. Defeat sexists by proving their ideas wrong, not by stripping everyone of their right to free expression.

@O.R.Mapper I basically agree with your points. I still believe that even if the example was warranted, a good textbook would have an explanation of the text and its relevance. It's supposed to be a substitute for a real textbook...right? Many people here are assuming that the person didn't attend lectures, didn't pay attention in class, etc. How is assuming this about her, different from assuming the professor didn't talk about this in his lecture?...

...Sometimes professors DON'T know how to do their jobs (even chairs), so I think it's worth entertaining the possibility that she has a legitimate concern rather than taking her to be an annoyed slacker. Based on the info provided by @Repmat, she's probably just misguided and frustrated. A frustration that isn't totally unsympathetic.

@APrioriRainbows: "It's supposed to be a substitute for a real textbook...right?" - I admit it may seem unusual to students who are otherwise used that each class is tightly linked to a textbook, but: No, lecture notes typically support the lecture. There is no expectation that they are comprehensible or complete as stand-alone material. That is not to say there are no very comprehensive lecture notes, but that is only one extreme, the other extreme being presentation slides simply handed out as lecture notes. In the latter case, it is normally understood that anything that is not ...

... inherently clear should be known from the lecture and, if necessary, from other resources that students have to find themselves. (Actually, the latter is a part of the educational spirit followed by intentionally making lecture notes not as complete as a textbook, as students should be trained to find explanations on their own.) For a more thorough exploration of this topic, I suggest you create a separate question.

@O.R.Mapper I am not sure if these are lecture notes. Usually when students are given lecture notes, they also have access to primary texts, or a textbook. I've never taught with a textbook, but my assigned readings are very different from my lecture notes. Additionally, since this binder has been "implemented it into all of the accounting curricula," it sounds like it's meant to be a textbook. Am I understanding this right? It sounds like other teachers are being required to use the binder.

@APrioriRainbows: "Usually when students are given lecture notes, they also have access to primary texts, or a textbook." - that's not usual in my experience. Also, I have attended and co-organized various classes where professors used (at least parts of) other professors' lecture notes. As I said, for further info, I suggest to conclude this comment thread and ask a separate question about the modalities of lecture notes.

Please take extended discussion to Academia Chat.

Was the tale in Italian? How did you translate it? I am Italian and I never heard your version of the story. The Prince arrived at the castle 100 years later, so he knows that something is wrong, he doesn't assume she is just sleeping. He kisses her and she wakes up. After that, they fall in love and they have two children.

of course! this is one of the best parts of university—listening to all the professors' different views. if you want to just learn facts, you can do that yourself on the web.

some clarifications: i have spoken with the professor who created this book (it is more of a textbook than lecture notes) and he admitted he was in the wrong for including this. He stated that he likes to include things unrelated to accounting in his book just because. There was no explanation about the story, no relating back to accounting or econ or anything.

Sounds like a disorganized/haphazard/possibly unprofessional professor then (he's just very bad at composing notes). Careless, perhaps, is the most suitable adjective. But "right" and "wrong" don't really factor here, beyond the professional obligation of a professor to provide relevant (or at the very least, non arbitrary) reference material to students.

"no explanation about the story, no relating back to accounting or econ or anything" - frankly, with the connection pointed out in some answers, this sounds a lot like the professor just wanted to avoid any lengthy discussion, in a "Yes, yes, you have your point and I have my peace." kind of way. Of course, this is just an unproven suspicion, and it closes the case for the OP for now, but personally, I wouldn't trust that take-away by the letter.

I don't see why a professor of accounting can not include classical literature in his/her notes. Classical literature may not meet our ethical standards, but it often contains contextual information we can learn from. Burning or burying all copies of such literature would not be wise. I did not see in your description that there was a note from your professor condoning rape, so I assume that is not the case. Maybe you should give him the benefit of the doubt, assuming you want to learn anything. A student who is adversarial toward the teacher is unlikely to learn much from the class.

This offensive version is actually the original version of the Sleeping Beauty tale, not the commonly-known sanitized version where he simply kisses her and she wakes up. I do agree it doesn't belong, though.

@aroth: I want to point out that asking about something's legality is not the same thing as advocating it be made illegal. They really may not know. Also, questions of morality and ethicality are not the same as legality. Something can be legal yet still immoral/unethical. Not all immoral/unethical behavior can or should be prohibited by law. It is a legitimate ethical question to ask whether or not it is ethical to use this story in this context.